It’s now been four weeks and I’m still looking for full time work.  This may be be longest I’ve been without a job in thirty years.  But things are starting to look up.

I have two interviews this week for contract jobs. They both sound like good work. I’ve also been getting more calls this last week. So I’m thinking businesses are coming out of the Christmas doldrums. 

The interesting part of this process has been how impersonal it all has become.  You don’t go to business offices anymore and apply in person.  I tried this last week for at job at the OU Medical Center.  The job posting said you could apply in person. When I showed up the nice lady said, “We don’t do that here anymore.  Everything is done on the Internet.“  But the Internet and resumes don’t give you any idea the personality or desire of the person. 

Job placement services are all about finding the right skills for the right job.  Recent job history and certificates are all they seem to be looking for in an applicant. When I talk to the employers they say they’re needing someone that can think on their feet and learn new products and procedures as things change.  And in the business of data processing things changes every day.

As a part of applying for a job, I was asked to take a technical test. It’s been a long time since I took a test.  The last test I took was for my general class amateur radio license more then seven years ago. Today I took five test. Two for Linux / Solaris, two for general programing and one for computer forensics.  I passed them all.